Denver Catholic

ALL THINGS SENIOR I B7 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I FEBRUARY 19, 2014 Of great value "Christ did not do away with suffer- ing. He did not even wish to unveil to us entirely the mystery of suffering. He took suffering upon himself and this is enough to make you understand all its value" (Pope Paul VI, Dec. 8, 1965). You are saving the world "All of you who feel heavily the weight of the cross, you who are poor and abandoned, you who weep, you who are persecuted for justice, you who are ignored, you the unknown victims of suffering, take courage. You are the preferred children of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of hope, happiness and life. You are the brothers of the suf- fering Christ, and with him, if you wish, you are saving the world" (Paul VI, Dec. 8, 1965). Out of weakness, strength "To suffer means to become partic- ularly susceptible, particularly open to the working of the salvifi c powers of God, offered to humanity in Christ. In him God has confi rmed his desire to act especially through suffering, which is man's weakness and emptying of self, and he wishes to make his power known precisely in this weakness and emptying of self" (Pope John Paul II, " Salvifi ci Doloris," Feb. 11, 1984). Not useless "A source of joy is found in the over- coming of the sense of the uselessness of suffering, a feeling that is sometimes very strongly rooted in human suffer- ing. This feeling not only consumes the person interiorly but seems to make him a burden to others. The person feels condemned to receive help and assistance from others and at the same time seems useless to himself. The dis- covery of the salvifi c meaning of suffer- ing in union with Christ transforms this depressing feeling" (Pope John Paul II, " Salvifi ci Doloris," Feb. 11, 1984). Healing, spiritual maturity "It is not by sidestepping or fl eeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and fi nding mean- ing through union with Christ, who suffered with infi nite love" (Pope Bene- dict XVI, "Spe Salvi," Nov. 30, 2007). No pain, no meaning "It is when we attempt to avoid suf- fering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaningless- ness and abandonment is all the great- er" (Pope Benedict XVI, "Spe Salvi," Nov. 30, 2007). Virtue in diffi culty "To suffer is to take the diffi culty and to carry it with strength, so that the dif- fi culty does not drag us down. To carry it with strength: this is a Christian vir- tue" (Pope Francis, daily homily at St. Martha's, May 24, 2013). Silent, but at peace During his Passion, Jesus "did not speak much, only two or three neces- sary words. ... But it is not a sad silence; the silence of bearing the cross is not a sad silence. It is painful, often very painful, but it is not sad. The heart is at peace" (Pope Francis, daily homily at St. Martha's, May 7, 2013). —Compiled by Karna Swanson LV Cath Register 2 19 14 303 8727538 7390 West Eastman Place Lakewood, CO 80227 LakeviewSeniorLiving.com A SPECTRUM RETIREMENT COMMUNIT Y HERE, YOU'LL ALWAYS FEEL AT HOME Actual Spectrum Residents Limited time $500 waitlist special Independent Retirement Living with Care Options Lakeview offers a dining program, housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, activities, an emergency alert system and more. The popes on suffering The question of why mankind must suffer is a perennial question, and one which is addressed often by the bishop of Rome. Below are some samples of what some of the more recent popes have had to say about suffering. PHOTO BY CNA DCR FILE PHOTO BY JAMES BACA PHOTO BY JEFFREY BRUNO

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